💰 Elon Musk hits $400 billion, drone frying laser weapon, skin bacteria turned into topical vaccine

Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur behind Tesla and SpaceX, has made history once again.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk has just become the first person to ever hit a net worth of $400 billion. This extraordinary milestone was achieved thanks to a surge in Tesla's stock price and a significant insider share sale at SpaceX.

Meanwhile, he renewed his public rivalry with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Musk took to social media to tease Gates, suggesting that the latter might face financial difficulties if Tesla were to become the “world's most valuable company.” Let's take a closer look at our Must-Read.

🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:

> Advanced Embedded Software Engineer
> Cloud Software Engineer - AI Trainer

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MUST-READ

💰 Elon Musk hits $400 billion record, teases bold Bill Gates bankruptcy if Tesla rules

Musk’s fortune has soared thanks to the meteoric rise of Tesla’s stock, which hit an all-time high of $424.77 per share. The company’s value has surged 65% since the recent U.S. presidential election, buoyed by optimism about Musk’s collaboration with President-elect Donald Trump.

SpaceX, another pillar of Musk’s empire, continues to dominate the private space exploration market.

Additionally, Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has emerged as a key player in the tech world. Its valuation has doubled to $50 billion since May, driven by advancements in cutting-edge AI technologies and a successful funding round.

🔫 UK tests first drone frying laser weapon mounted on a military truck

The British Army tested its powerful, high-energy laser weapon from an armored vehicle for the first time. The laser weapon directs an intense beam of infra-red light in the form of energy towards its target. During the test, the tech successfully destroyed flying drones.

The weapon uses advanced sensors and tracking systems to maintain lock-on and accuracy in real time.

The weapon has been developed through a collaboration between the MOD’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) – known as Team Hersa – and an industry consortium led by Raytheon UK.

🦠 Skin bacteria turned into topical vaccine, protects mice against tetanus

A painless future of vaccination could be on the horizon, as researchers have been working on innovative delivery methods. Stanford University scientists have now presented another unique method using a common skin bacterium, Staphylococcus epidermidis.

They have advanced vaccination by transforming this bacterium into a painless, skin-applied topical vaccine.

This technology could lead to a future where vaccines could be simply rubbed onto the skin like creams. This would eliminate the need for needles as well as reduce side effects like fever and soreness. 

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